Thursday, March 10, 2011

Global Architectures

"The most beautiful thing in Paris is McDonald's. The most beautiful thing in Washington is McDonald's. Beijing and Moscow don't have anything beautiful yet."

from A to B and Back Again, Andy Warhol, 1986.

"Its a small, one story white building with a plastic red roof that just says 'Pizza Hut' and you know exactly what it means. Even though you haven't seen it, you probably know what it looks like because there is one just like it down the street from where you are. The building itself is based on a corporate prototype that is then applied in the same way everywhere the marketing team has deemed profitable. It is the perfect example of corporate architecture because it is not just a building, but a building as registered trademark or logo, doing for architecture what Nike did for shoes.
Finally, it's a structure that can inhabit any climate or site without having to adjust to circumstance.
Pizza Hut is the new International Style."

from International Style, by Andreas Angelidakis, 1997